This invention relates to showerhead engine assemblies and water aerators, and more particularly, to showerhead engine assemblies having different combinations of continuous and pulsating sprays.
Numerous showerheads assemblies are known in the prior art that operate in multi-functional modes. These assemblies provide fixed spray patterns in combination with massaging action generated by either pulsating or whirling the water through the showerhead. Individual systems include:
(1) A selector disk removably and rotatably mounted inside the selector housing. The disk selector has an inlet end facing the inlet end of the selector housing, and an outlet end opposite the inlet end of the disk selector. The showerhead includes a selector face mounted inside the selector housing and a diffuser plate mounted inside the selector housing.
(2) A showerhead assembly enabling the selection of various forms of output streams, including a set of streams having a large diameter, rich in bubbles when the water pressure is high, a set of streams having a smaller diameter full of bubbles when the water pressure is low, or a spray instead of the bubbly stream.
(3) A showering system fed from a source of hot water that produces steam. A selectively controlled diverter is disposed within the conduit and diverts the water arriving from the source away from the showerhead and through the outlet in the form of a mist. The showerhead includes a nozzle-driven turbine. Apertures in a flow director plate, governed by a control plate, feed nozzles predetermined to vary the force of water delivered. The water force varies with the number of the nozzles that are open.
These systems have complex internal components which must be sealed relative to each other, are relatively expensive to produce, and due to the complexity of the components often do not operate in a manner which fully prevents leakage during use. In addition, the showerhead outlet ports often become obstructed by impurities causing almost random spray patterns.
What is needed is a showering system that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art, that is economical to manufacture and durable in use, that operates effectively within a wide range of water pressures, that enables the person to select from a regular continuous spray, an aerated spray, a pulsating spray, and several combinations thereof, and that is energy efficient and yields spray characteristics that are better than conventional showerhead engine assemblies.
What is needed is a showerhead engine assembly having component parts that are interchangeable with other assemblies, the number of component parts being minimal, the interchangeability reducing the number of spare parts necessary for repair purposes, the assembly enabling various combination of spray patterns including jet spray, aeration, deflected spray, pulsating jet spray, and pulsating deflected spray, while providing self-cleaning convenience.
These needs are addressed by the preferred embodiments of the showerhead engine assemblies of the present invention. The term showerhead as used herein designates any device which attaches to a shower fluid supply through an inlet tube and creates a spray by changing the fluid pattern, including (1) standard showerheads, (2) pulsating showerheads, and (3) energy-savings, aerating showerheads.
In a first preferred embodiment of the showerhead engine assembly of the present invention comprises five plastic parts plus an O-ring seal; the parts being a stator, a spinner, an engager, a pressure plate, and a faceplate, openings beings disposed in the pressure plate and faceplate to enable fluid flow therethrough. Deflecting surfaces on the faceplate enable a variety of different flow patterns. Rotation of the spinner is dependant upon the particular spray pattern selected. The stator includes a pair of stop flanges that engage and disengage with the spinner. When the spinner is disengaged and free to rotate, fluid flow through passages in the spinner cause spinner rotation, creating a vortex. When the spinner is free to rotate, the combination of the spinner, stator, and pressure plate create pulsating action.
The spray patterns are formed external to the pressure chamber. The spray selection occurs on more than one plane, between the pressure plate and the faceplate, and the spray selection occurs with water at atmospheric pressure. The spray patterns are created by the deflecting surfaces disposed on the faceplate. Four basic spray patterns: (1) nonpulsating uninterrupted flow where the spinner is stationary; (2) nonpulsating deflected flow where the spinner is also stationary; (3) pulsating uninterrupted flow where the spinner is rotating; and (4) pulsating deflected flow where the spinner is rotating.
In a second preferred embodiment of the showerhead engine assembly of the present invention, the engine assembly comprises only a pressure plate and a faceplate, without pulsation. A mechanism for alignment purposes is preferably incorporated into the pressure plate and faceplate, since unless properly aligned, the water flow becomes random. Also, a detente mechanism can be used. The faceplate is identical to the faceplate in the first preferred embodiment. Two spray patterns are available: (1) nonpulsating uninterrupted flow; and (2) nonpulsating deflected flow.
The pressure chamber within the showerhead engine assembly disposed between the stator and the pressure plate must be sealed from the spray selection chamber. In contrast to conventional showerhead engine assemblies where high-pressure seals are needed to provide necessary sealing, the showerhead engine assembly of the present invention only needs to seal the pressure chamber from the spray selection chamber.
Additional embodiments include showerhead engine assemblies similar to the first and second preferred embodiments that include a self-cleaning action. Six self-cleaning pins disposed are normal to the plane of the spring wire. The circular spring nests in a circular slot in the pressure plate. Each of the six orifice holes in the pressure plate comprise a cluster of apertures disposed about a central opening. The pins rest into each of the central openings. As the relative position of the faceplate is rotated about the pressure plate-spring combination as spray selections are made, the edges of the faceplate force the pins to move back and forth axially within the central openings generating the self-cleaning action. The pins translate within the holes by the action of rotation of the shower faceplate itself, resulting in the self-cleaning action.
The advantages of the showerhead engine assembly of the present invention are numerous. These advantages include spray patterns formed external to the pressure chamber; and a dramatic reduction in the number of component parts, which keeps part count down, improves assembly time, reduces costs, and simplifies repair. The showerhead engine assembly of the present invention also provides crossing spray patterns; and families of showerhead engine assemblies that provide various spray patterns with interchangeable component parts. Other shaped and sized orifices in the faceplate enable a selection of a variety of spray patterns with varying spray characteristics. Rotation and realignment of the faceplate relative to the pressure plate changes the orifice configurations and the number of spray selection options.
For a more complete understanding of the showerhead engine assembly of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which the presently preferred embodiments of the invention are shown by way of example. As the invention may be embodied in many forms without departing from spirit of essential characteristics thereof, it is expressly understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and description only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.